What is a SIM-only plan?
A SIM-only plan usually refers to a mobile phone plan that just comes with a SIM card and no phone. However, many providers now use the term to describe postpaid mobile plans — plans that require you to pay for your service and use at the end of each month. These plans might also be referred to as month-to-month phone plans.
In this guide, we’ll be using SIM-only plans to refer specifically to postpaid phone plans. Prepaid mobile plans can also be considered SIM-only but operate differently — you can read our prepaid plan guide to find out more.
What are the best SIM-only plans in Australia?
When it comes to choosing a postpaid SIM-only plan, you’ll have a lot of options not just for the plan, but also for the provider you want to sign up to.
The big three telcos — Telstra, Optus and Vodafone — are perhaps the first providers that spring to mind when it comes to the typical postpaid plan where you’re billed monthly. However, there are also plenty of smaller providers, known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), who also offer postpaid phone plans. Sometimes these smaller providers will offer cheaper plans or more data for your money than the big three.Â
These smaller providers will use either the Telstra, Optus or Vodafone mobile networks to deliver service to customers. Before you sign up to a new plan, it’s important that you check the mobile coverage of your chosen provider to ensure you will have network coverage where you live and any other places you frequently visit.
Finding the best postpaid mobile plans will depend on what you’re looking for in a phone plan. If you think about what kind of inclusions there are, along with your budget, you can then start to compare a range of SIM-only plans.
Smaller providers offering postpaid SIM-only plans include:
- Aussie Broadband
- Belong
- Dodo
- Everyday Mobile (formerly Woolworths Mobile)
- More
- Moose Mobile
- Southern Phone
- Tangerine
To help you make this decision, every year Canstar releases a report on Australia’s favourite SIM-only postpaid phone plan providers. We survey Aussies with a postpaid plan to rank their current provider across a range of metrics including network coverage, customer service, billing and overall satisfaction. The overall winner is awarded Most Satisfied Customers for Postpaid Mobile SIM-Only for that year.
Can you get cheap SIM-only plans?
Postpaid SIM-only plans are available at a range of different price points to suit a wide range of budgets. Cheap SIM-only plans will typically only include a small amount of data and these plans may only suit light phone users, such as seniors or kids.
Typically the cheapest postpaid mobile plans are available for around $20-$30 monthly, with data inclusions around 10GB per month. Here are some of the cheapest SIM-only postpaid plans currently available on Canstar’s database:
- SpinTel $22 Mobile Plan: $22 with 25GB data per month
- TeleChoice Basic plan: $23 with 8GB data per month
- Southern Phone Small 5G SIM plan: $24 with 20GB data per month
- Pennytel 10GB plan: $24 with 10GB data per month
- Flip 20GB SIM plan: $24.90 with 20GB data per month
How to compare SIM-only plans
The best SIM-only plan will differ from person to person, as everyone has different needs.Â
When choosing a postpaid plan, it’s important to compare a wide range of plans from different providers. However, there are a couple of things you’ll want to consider when comparing plans.
Inclusions
Before signing up to a postpaid plan, you’ll need to think about which inclusions are must-haves for you. This will include plan basics such as data allowance and international calls, but can also include 5G network access, no excess data charges and any other extras.
For most people, data — measured in gigabytes (GB) — will be the most important inclusion to look at as it usually determines which plans you’ll compare. While it’s easy to think that a plan with more data is ‘better’, if you don’t actually use that data you can save money by choosing a plan with a smaller data allowance.Â
Cost
The other factor to consider is the cost of postpaid plans. Often things like data inclusions will determine how much you pay, with larger data inclusions available on the more expensive plans.
For this reason, it’s important to be realistic about what you need on your plan in order to set a budget. While everyone would like to save money on a cheap phone plan, setting your budget to a $20 plan with only 5GB of data per month, isn’t going to work for you if your usage is more like 20GB per month and you’re regularly going over your data allowance.
What special features and inclusions do postpaid SIM-only plans have?
No excess data charges
A small range of postpaid providers offer no excess data charges, instead giving customers unlimited capped-speed data in addition to a full-speed data allowance. This means that if you go over your fast data inclusions, you’ll be able to continue using data at no extra cost, but at a capped speed (which is typically fast enough for basic activities like browsing social media and music streaming).
Data banking
Some postpaid providers offer the option to bank or rollover any unused data from the month. This might be rolling over data to the next month, or banking that unused data ongoing. Data banking can be unlimited or capped at a specific number of gigabytes.Â
Global roaming add-ons
International roaming and roaming pack add-ons are offered by some providers. This might be on a pay-as-you-go type usage basis or could be in the form of a roaming pack add-on. In the case of the big three (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone), their global roaming add-ons are more generous on postpaid plans compared to what is offered on prepaid.Â
5G access and uncapped speeds
Many providers now offer access to one of the three 5G mobile networks (operated by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone), however some providers may only offer 5G with capped speeds. Depending on the provider, speeds may be capped on cheaper plans and uncapped on the more expensive plans. There may also be different capped speeds included: for example, 150 megabits per second (Mbps) on the cheaper plans and 250Mbps on the more expensive plans.Â
The downside to capped speeds is that you’re not getting the full speed potential that 5G offers. While these speed caps might not even be noticeable for most users, it’s still a key difference between many plans and providers. In the case of the big three providers, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone all offer uncapped speeds on their postpaid SIM-only plans.Â
Is a postpaid SIM-only plan right for me?
One of the advantages to postpaid is that you’ll never be without access to talk, text and data, unlike prepaid plans where you run the risk of using up your inclusions before your plan resets.
However, for some, this is also a disadvantage. Considering that many of these plans allow you to exceed your monthly data allowance, you run the risk of paying extra for any excess gigabytes. Usually providers will charge an extra $10 per 1GB of data; if you go over your data regularly, this can really add up.
You’ll also be billed extra for any additional services you access which are not part of your plan’s inclusions, such as international use, or calls to non-standard numbers.
This is one of the reasons why some people don’t like postpaid phone plans, as those extra charges can add up and contribute to ‘bill shock’. That’s why it’s important to read the critical information summary before you sign up so you know what additional fees and services you might be charged for.
Still, many people might find it more convenient and manageable to be billed monthly, rather than recharging a prepaid plan. Some postpaid plans might also include access to extras that prepaid plans often don’t have, like international roaming.
Ultimately, consider what you want in your phone plan and whether you prefer to pay for your usage after the fact with a monthly bill. If you don’t mind either way, it could just come down to finding a plan that best suits your needs and budget. Because these plans are usually available month-to-month (removing the need to cancel a contract or pay exit fees), if you’re unhappy with one plan, you can always switch to another!
